


To The End Of A Rocky Path

by Nicandy03



Category: Haikyuu!!, ダイヤのA | Daiya no A | Ace of Diamond
Genre: Broken Family, Eijun's Mother Died, Gen, Other tags to be added, Sawamura eijun and daichi are cousins, Sawamura's Father Cheated, Smart Sawamura Eijun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-28 11:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30138798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicandy03/pseuds/Nicandy03
Summary: Sawamura Eijun's father brought a woman home and admits he had an affair. After his parents' divorce and the sudden death of his mother, Eijun began to withdraw from his family life and concentrated on baseball. His hard work was rewarded, he was scouted by seido.He might not tell them but they know he is struggling about something.How will his scars affect him and his journey to being ace?
Comments: 22
Kudos: 74





	1. Shattered

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :D, I'm new to Ao3 and this is my first fanfic. I'm not yet used on operating this but I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Quotation marks ("_") are dialogues
> 
> Meanwhile those with italics are thoughts
> 
> Quotation marks + italization are flashbacks

Eijun didn't mean it. He didn't mean to eavesdrop.

He wished he didn't hear anything.

These month the atmosphere in the house is bleak. There was something different, he knew it was not a simple problem. The loud house suddenly became silent and talks became formal- almost as if talking only if needed. He tried to brighten up his home by sharing his day to day activities with friends but it was of no use.

Today, there was a guest. When he heard his father's car he instantly ran to the door to welcome him, strangely though there was a woman behind him. Although it was rude, he stared at her. Curious as to why this woman is in his home. He suddenly remembered his grades.

' _Ah, perhaps this person is a tutor. I did flunk my tests.'_

A chill run down his spine thinking about the woman who may be his tutor and shorten his playing time. 

' _I better introduce myself, its not good if she had a bad impression on me for being rude.'_

"Hello, I'm Sawamura Eijun. May I ask what is the purpose of your visit today?"

Another chill run down on his spine, the woman smiled at him but eijun felt that it is sickeningly sweet. 

"Eijun, who-" 

His granfather froze.

"Grandpa, looks like we have a guest today." He informed.

_'Is the state of the house currently too unfit to welcome a guest that you froze?'_

"Eijun, go to your room and don't come out until you are told to do so. Adults need to discuss something." His father told him.

"...okay." he hestitantly replied. He looked at his grandfather who is currently wearing a not so nice expression and reluctantly went to his room.

* * *

Curiosity kills a cat they say but in Eijun's case it killed his heart.

He was sitting in a red swivel chair continuosly spinning around. He felt bored and had nothing to do.

_'I'll go grab a snack, a quick trip to the kitchen won't be bad.'_

Eijun went down the stairs as quiet as possible. Just as he was about to pass the door to the living room, he heard sniffles undoubtedly coming from his mother.

 _'Why is she crying?'_ He thought

Unable to ignore his crying mother, he cancelled his trip to the kitchen and opened the door for a little peek.

His grandfather was clutching his chest, his mother is crying, his father is kneeling and the unknown woman was just sitting. 

Did his father lose a bet or something?  
Maybe the woman is not a tutor but a debt collector. Why else would he be kneeling.

"I know I am in the wrong but I will still ask for a divorce."

_'Divorce? His father is asking for divorce? Why? Why? Why?!'_

Eijun may not be the brightest tool in the shed sometimes but he knows the weight of the word. How many classmates of his had cried talking about their parent's separation during class counseling? Looking at the tears they shed made him cry and sympathize with them. 

He knows the atmosphere of the house has went downhill this month but- 

_'Don't you think you are giving up so easily?'_

"I am cheating." Eijun froze.

"There's someone who owns my heart and needs me."

_'Someone he loves? What about my mother?'_

"You love her?" His mother slowly uttered looking at her husband, disbelief spread on her face. Eijun can't look at his mother, the scene was too heartbreaking.

Things started to make sense in Eijun's mind, from what is happening to who that woman is. He started to remember memories from his childhood.

" _Eh?! Shotgun marriage in the Sawamuras? That child?"_

_"Shhh! Tone down your voice little Eijun might hear."_

_"Granpa, what's a sho- shogun marriage?"_

_"I won't answer that for now but when you get older you'll know."_

Eijun suddenly felt weak, all those memories and emotions is overloading him. He felt sweaty, his breathing became deep and fast, his vision became blurred and in his last attempt to gain balance he leaned his body to the door. He heard a loud bang and felt the cold floor, he can see his family rush to him saying words that seemed to ring in his ears until everything became pitch black.

* * *

Eijun opened his eyes, his gaze went to his surroundings. Everthing is familiar, he is inside his bedroom. It didn't take long for him to register why he is in there.

_'I must have fainted'_

He looked at the clock and realized he woke up in the middle of the night. His thoughts wandered around the events today and what would happen to the future but pushed it to the back of his mind- he didn't want to cry.

 _'I need a distraction.'_ He thought

He saw his baseball glove, it tempted him to go out and pitch but it would be noisy. He also saw his notebooks with unfinished homeworks. Yep, maybe he should do that.

Thirty minutes in and he was about to fall asleep- scratch that. He was feeling sleepy this entire time, he only managed to stay awake because he was reading about the historical generals of Japan. Now that he was doing maths especially fractions his body could no longer keep up so he fell asleep on the table. 

* * *

  
Weeks passed by and the family hasn't talked about that yet, Eijun continued on with his day to day activities but has been avoiding his father. His mother on the other hand just smiles at him and gave him a bento everyday.

Sawamura Eitoku, decided that its time to tell eijun the final descision and what would happen in the future so he called for a family meeting today.

The family sat around the table in the living room in silence, to get everyone's attention eitoku coughed.

He explained to eijun everything. That the woman that day was his father's mistress- someone he genuinely loves. His parents decided that it was better to separate. After all, the mistress is pregnant and can't afford to raise the baby alone. 

Eitoku saw eijun's face contort, this part of the news was probably new to him. Eitoku felt that it is unfair for eijun, the boy loved his family so dearly afterall. Eijun is already growing older and independent so he would probably understand with time why he agreed to the divorce. His parents married for his sake but there was no love. It was time to let go.

After the discussion Eitoku felt sorry for his grandson who listened, did not speak and went up to his room crying.


	2. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A momentary peace in Eijun's second year of middle school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people :D
> 
> This fic is self indulgence so theres no permanent schedule.
> 
> I hope you like it :D

Eijun was laying in the rooftop looking at the sky, he watched the clouds pass by and classified them on what they look like. He did this to have some peace of mind. 

His thoughts began to drift away. These passing weeks have been stressful for him. It has been decided that his parents would divorce and his mother will go back to her family home in Fukishima then his father would marry his mistress. Eijun felt a slight distaste, he had no problem about them marrying but remarrying right after divorce kind of gives the feeling that they cannot wait for the wife to get out. He wished they would give his mother time to adjust and more respect.

Eijun stood up and headed for the classroom, his friends must have been so worried. He usually barge into Wakana or Nobu's class to have lunch as soon as the bell rings but these days he was eating alone and distancing himself a little. 

Feelings of dread and unease for the future was intruding in his heart but he have to keep moving forward. He has to.

He walked down the stairs and into his classroom but outside his class was his group of friends.

"Ei-chan! Eijun-kun!" His friends chimed.

"I heard you didn't each lunch with wakana and nobu. Heck, you didn't even eat lunch with anyone." 

"I'm sorry, I just had a lot of things in my mind these days. But I promise I will eat lunch with you all tommorow."

Eijun plastered a big smile in his face. That's right he have his friends who he grew up with. Always there to support him, going as far as learning to play baseball just to play with him and achieve his dreams. 

"Eijun-kun" Someone with a short chestnut-brown hair called him.

"Wakana?"

"If you have problems, you can share it to us if that can help you vent. Keeping it all up to yourself is bad for the mind you know. You can rely on us."

"That's right!"

"You can count on us!"

"We're here!"

Eijun could not help but smile and tear up for a bit. 

"Actually I-" 

"You brats better go inside your class if you don't want to be late!"

A faculty suddenly interrupted, no, not just any faculty. It was this school's very own principal.

"Yes sir!" Eijun and his friends responded

"I'll tell you all after baseball practice!" Eijun shouted as he glanced to his friends also running to their rooms.

* * *

"Sorry Eijun! I think I'm having a hard time catching your pitches!" Nobu shouted from where he is squating.

"It's fine, I think there's something wrong with me too! My ball doesn't go where I want." 

"Yeah, I know. It's kind of hard to see where it will move, just throw it in the middle. It's easier to catch when it moves if you throw it there."

"Alright then"

Eijun began throwing his fastball, nobu can catch 85% of it and the rest he can't. The sun is ready to call it a day so he began packing his bag, he'll walk home with his friends today.

"So what's up with you eijun? Did something happen?" One of his friends asked

Eijun took a deep breath before he explain.

"Well, a lot of things would change. Mom and dad would divorce the-"

"What?!"

"Aunt and uncle will?!"

"Why?!"

Eijun watched as his friends released surprised reactions. Those who know the Sawamura family wouldn't expect for something like that to happen so their surprised reactions are expected.

"Wait guys, let him finish his sentence before asking." Nobu interjected

"Ehem. So as I was saying, they would divorce. Granpa told me that they got married so that I won't grow up getting called illegitimate or other names. He said people are so nasty back then, but now that I am growing up and a younger sibling is on the way. It's time for them to let go." 

Silence filled the air, they were afraid to make a sound. They knew eijun was struggling about something but they didn't expect it to be as big as this. The only thing on their minds right now was-

"Eijun, are you really fine?" Like an angel, wakana was unafraid to voice their collective concerns.

" I- I don't know." Eijun hestitantly said as he stoped in his tracks. In the first place he didn't even know what to feel. He was still in the process of accepting changes, different emotions are in his heart. Each of it was burning like a flame waiting for a fuel to strengthen it. Is he angry? Sad? Happy for his parents for letting go? He doesn't know.

"I don't know if i can answer that question right now." Eijun told them honestly

"I see."

"Then eijun-kun, prepare for tommorow. Its saturday. We're going to tokyo" each of his friends have a wide grin on their faces. 

A sense of excitement flowed through him, they definitely have an ace up their sleeves and he wanted to know what. Before he could ask

"It's a surprise." they added.

* * *

Eijun opened the gate to his family's house, his dad's car was parked inside so he assumed that he went home early. 

He went inside, shouted that he is home and spotted his father smoking inside. He could already imagine Sawamura Eitoku's rage.

_'Old man's definitely gonna be scolded, can't he understand that grandpa doesn't like him smoking inside?'_

It's hard for him to converse these days with his dad so he wants to swiftly enter his room like a ninja.

"Eijun, let's talk." 

His father suddenly called out to him, motioning him to the veranda.

"Okay" eijun responded as he droped his bag to the sofa then followed his father outside.

He sat on the edge and waited for the other party to speak.

"Eijun, many changes will happen from now on and you are probably having a hard time but when Ms. Wada becomes a member of this family. Please get along with her."

"If Ms. Wada becomes a member of our family, I will try my best to respect her but do not expect me to like her or get along with her, we can simply stay like strangers in this house and interact like a decent human being. I also need time to adjust. Just because you got your way easily doesn't change the fact that you cheated."

Eijun stood up and walk away, he can't understand his father. Why is he being asked to get along well when they were the one who is hurt his mother?

_'I have to tell grandpa about going to tokyo later.'_

* * *

He and his friends decided to meet at the train station today after he was allowed to go to tokyo. He doesn't know what surprise they are talking about but maybe they are going to cafes (since wakana kept talking about going to pet cafes) or simply look around.

"Eijun kun! Right here!" He heard someone calling for him and spotted the familiar face of his friend where the voice came from. Seeing nobu, he immediately walked towards them.

They got a bit lost on the way but eijun was surprised when he saw a baseball stadium.

His friends dragged him to watch live highschool baseball!

"Playing baseball is more fun than just watching!" He proclaimed.

"Oh come on eijun, this is also for research purposes. If we want to win, we need knowledge. Besides, I'm sure you'll like it." Nobu argued

"Yeah, highschool baseball is popular for a reason!"

"We bought tickets ya know! It's Seidou vs Ichidaisan! Both are powerhouse schools in baseball."

"Seidou? Ichidaisan? Is that supposed to be amazing or something?" Eijun raised his brow as he inquired.

"Ha?! Eijun, you play baseball and you don't know? Those schools experienced kosien ya know! Televisions and magazines have articles about them ya know."

"Well, knowing you. You probably just throw and hit. This is another reason to do research." Wakana indicated

"Eijun, you idiot." 

His friends continued to lecture and complain about him while they entered the stadium. 

As soon as he entered, a field shoned by the sun greeted him

_'Wow'_

He was amazed to see the stadium. It was big and well kept, many people are also watching. He followed his friends to look for available seats, once they found seats available for all of them some of his friends voluntered to buy drinks. 

"It's hot." He uttered unconscoiusly

"Oh, is it your first time here? You should have brought a hat kid." An old man said beside him.

"Sorry, I must have said it out loud but yes, it is my first time here. I didn't expect it to be this hot in tokyo."

"Oh so youre not from tokyo then? I have an extra hat here, you can use it for a while." The old man opened his bag, pulled a blue hat and handed it to him.

"Thank you very much, i'll return it later. And I'm from nagano by the way." Eijun extended his hand for a handshake.

"No problem kid. Are you still in middle school? At this time of the year many youngsters are scouting for a highschool to attend."

"No sir, my friends brought me here to watch. I'm still a second year but I do play baseball in nagano." He chuckled

"I see, I played baseball when I was young too so now that I'm retired I spent my days watching baseball." The old man shared

"Attention! We will now begin the quarterfinals of fall tournament. Coaches, please submit your batting line up." The announcer announced. 

Eijun was now about to watch the Quarterfinals of the Fall Tournament between Seidou High School and Ichidai Sankou.

* * *

"Steal!"

The runner on firstbase was about to steal second base but the catcher threw the ball seemingly expecting it. 

"Out!" The umpire called.

"Takigawa Chris Yuu is really a work of art. Nothing less from a son of a baseball pro." The old man near eijun whose name is Mr. Matsuda claimed.

It's the top of the 7th inning but the score is still 0-0.

The eight batter striked out while the 9th batter grounded the ball which led to the 2nd and 3rd out.

Eijun watched as Seidou went out the field to bat while players of ichidai got ready to defend. Ichidaisan's coach went out of the dug out and said something to the umpires.

"Ichidai sankou is making a substitution. Replacing pitcher Takeda-kun is Manaka-kun. Batting 7th, pitcher Manaka-kun."

The announcement made people chatter

"Good call from ichidaisan, even though takeda kept them from scoring it is obvious that he is getting too exhausted."

"Yeah, he went all out from the first inning."

Amongst the chatter, eijun can hear the coach saying 'Manaka boy, you can do it.' with a weird finger pose.

_'The coach was like that since the first inning.'_

"Oh, the pitcher from summer. I remember he is quite good. If he sharpen his slider then raise his speed, he'll be turning into a monster." Mr. Matsuda commented.

"Slider?" Eijun questioned

"It's a breaking ball."

"Breaking ball?"

"Huh?"

"Ha?"

"Haaah? Didn't you play baseball?" The old man asked due to confusion.

"I did." eijun replied affirmatively.

"Then why did you not know what a slider is? It's a pretty common breaking ball" 

"That's what I don't get, what's a breaking ball anyway?"

"Kid, let me ask first, do you know what's a fastball?"

"Yes"

"Did your coach not teach you about breaking balls."

"Uh, we don't exactly have a coach."

"I see, that explains it then. We need to have a long talk kid."

* * *

The game ended in 1-0 and seido advances to the semifinals. The game was decided by a walk of homerun by seido's clean up batter, 2nd year Azuma Kiyokuni. 

"Azuma scored another homerun, even though he's still a second year I'm sure he'll be recruited as a pro once he graduates." Mr. Matsuda praised 

Eijun enjoyed the game, he had to admit. The walk of homerun was so cool. The batters of each team are good, they kept getting hits but the pitchers are awsome too, they kept their cool and prevented the runs. 

His heart was beating so fast,he felt the thrill of the game even though he's just watching.

 _'Intense'_ that's what he's been thinking.

"Matsuda-san!" He called for the man beside him

"Hmm?" The old man looked at him questioningly.

"I'm going to ask questions so please answer it!" Eijun shouted as he bowed.

"Hahahaha, you're interesting kid! Fire it away! We're supposed to have a long talk anyway." The old man laughed.

"So what's a breaking ball?"

"Its a type of pitch that relies on movement."

"I see, then how do you pitch a breaking ball? Mine always move though."

"Always move? What grip do you use? Are you telling me you're always pitching breaking balls?"

"No sir, I'm sure I'm pitching fastballs and by grip do you mean how I hold the ball?"

"Yes, because in pitching your grip affects the ball's movement. A fastball is thrown as fast as the pitcher can, the original pitch. Mostly goes straight." Old man Matsuda explained.

"My fastball isn't straight though, is it because i grip it randomly?"

"Have you tried gripping it as a 4 seamer? It's the most basic fastball grip?"

"4 seamer? What's that an american rapper?" Eijun asked

"Wait, let me clear things up first. Do you call all your pitches fastball?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, i have an idea but i need to see it. Call your friends, let's go outside the stadium and show your pitch to me."

"Yes, sir!" Eijun saluted

It was safe to say, it opened Eijun's eyes to a whole new world of baseball.


	3. Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy happeneds and eijun meets his cousin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Death and Mentions of Blood
> 
> Italized words are thoughts
> 
> Hello :D

"Eijun, you've been elated since yesterday. Did something good happen in tokyo?" 

"I finally discovered why my pitches are hard to catch!" 

"Really? How?" Eijun's mother questioned. Her son is extra loud and jumpy today.

"Nobu mentioned before that my pitches look alive right? I met an old man in tokyo, his name is Mr. Matsuda. He told me that its because my fastballs are moving fastballs!"

"Moving...fastballs? Weren't fastballs supposed to be straight?"

"Well, technically fastballs are mostly straight. Those who aren't taught to pitch correctly can have something like that."

"Does this mean you have to learn how to pitch from the start?"

"Mr. Matsuda said, I can make it my weapon. Which is what nobu and I have been doing for years. Pitch it to the middle and let the ball move on its own when it reaches the plate."

"Oh, I see. I kind of get it now sweetie but does it mean nobu have to work harder to catch those pitches?"

"Yup, but mr. Matsuda said that its not enough because metal bats are my natural enemy! So he told me to learn the 4 seamer which is a fastball but straighter than my own."

"Wow, mr. Matsuda sure knows a lot about baseball, is he a player?"

"He said he played in highschool but now he is a retired old man."

"You thanked him for his advise right?" His mother raised an eyebrow.

"Of course i did! This sawamura eijun is not a thankless jerk!" Eijun stood up and pointed his thumb at himself.

"What else did you talk about?"

"Hmmm, he gave advice to nobu. Sonething about teaching me control, pitching sequences and pitch.....something?"

"I dont really get what that is but I suppose its what a catcher does."

"Yeah, matsuda-san said something about looking at takigawa chris yuu for reference. He have strategy, defense and leadership on field."

"The kid must be good to receive that kind of praise from him."

"Yes he is! I saw him throw the ball from homeplate to second base! Like a cannon! Its like he knows they plan to steal! He's amazing and looks reliable." Eijun said while demonstrating hand throwing motions.

"So you finally watched live baseball."

"Well, playing is still better than watching. I want to stand on the mound when I watched them pitch."

"The last tournament of this year is coming eijun, do you have enough time to learn what mr. Matsuda taught?"

"Yup, I do. Nobu and I are putting more effort on practices now that we understood. Maybe we should ask Coach Sano to take us to practice games?"

"How about the money for travelling? Make sure Mr. Sano is not paying everything with his salary, the poor guy will go bankrupt. Don't worry I'll give you extra allowance."

"Thanks mom. This sawamura eijun once again vows to do his best!"

"Alright alright, settle down and eat your food." His mother chuckled at the sight of him getting excited.

Dinner time was peaceful, he spent it chatting with his mother. That was until a person who regularly visits entered once again.

"Excuse me! Is Sawamura Eiji here?"

As soon as the three people were aware of each others' presence they looked at each other, the uninvited guest also known as Ms. Wada then steps inside without care .

"She just comes in and goes." Eijun heard his mother mutter and he agrees. Ms. Wada should know that there is a tense atmosphere between her and his mother. It's not that hard to be a bit more respectful right?

"Ummm, please wait in the living room first. I'll call him upstairs." Eijun said, he was trying to be nice. He have to be patient no matter how he dislike the other party's attitude.

"Oh it's fine, well be family anyway." Eijun felt disgusted, this woman kept on irritating him. From regularly visiting, acting too close to him and repeatedly yet indirectly saying hos mother will get divorced and she will marry i to this family.

"Patience eijun. Patience." He told himself as ms.wada proceed to walk inside. 

"You really have no respect! The wife is still here! You are too insensitive"

His grandfather shouted as went down the stairs.

Eijun didn't try to bother with Ms. Wada anymore. As much as he wants to talk some sense with her, he knew his mother needed him more.

"I'm here mom, I'm here. I promise" 

* * *

"Eijun-kun! let's warm up in the bullpen."

Nobu called for his friend, he needs to see his status today.

"Alright!" The brunette with brown eyes replied enthusiastically.

A lot of things has changed. Its was easier to catch eijun's idiosyncratic pitches compared to before. Of course he struggled but now he can keep up.

He watched as Eijun launched a throw that went to his mitt. The four seamer taught by the old man works wonders!

He remembered how eijun shouted on top of his lungs that he can feel the ball with his fingertips after repeatedly pitching with that grip.

One day eijuns pitching was uncontrolable more than ever. Nobu felt nervous that something was physically wrong with his friend so he dialed the person he knew could help.

As for how he got his number, the old man slipped a small sheet of paper in his pocket. He felt weird accepting it first but the old man insisted that they can dial if they need help regarding pitching. He sent the old man a wary gaze.

'Watching the bloom of youth!' The old man claimed.

Nobu felt more than happy that the number can be put to use.

The old man came to nagano and went to see eijun. That is how they figured out that eijun has a really flexible body and that he needed a new form to stabilize his pitching and not strain his body.

And alas! That form is a weapon on its own! The batters cannot see the trajectory and the speed seems to increase. They were really thankful to Old man Matsuda.

Before the tournament, eijun was learning control after stabilizing his form and along the way he is becoming consistent. 

Nobu called for another pitch but he dropped the ball. In game when he calls for a 4 seamer or moving ball, he is a bit frustrated sometimes because he thinks he made the wrong call or can't catch the ball.

In his line of sight, one of his teammates appeared.

"Nobu! Eijun! Coach Sano is calling. He said he has something to say before the first inning starts."

Nobu and eijun jogged towards their forced-to-be-coach. When they went inside the dugout they saw him standing there.

"Kids, honestly, I didn't expect you all to reach the regional quarterfinals but here we are. Firstly, I would like to say I am proud of you. This team was formed a year ago with no previous knowledge of baseball but through you hardwork and perseverence you are here. Secondly, it is an honor for the school to be represented by hardworking people. So go out there and give it your all!"

"Yes sir!"

'Now that's encouraging.' Nobu thought.

Feeling energized, the team headed to battle ready to face their opponent. 

-

"Eijun surely improved a lot." Sawamura Eitoku commented as he saw his grandson take out the last batter of the inning.

"Yes, apparently someone called mr. Matsuda from tokyo helped them and eversince that day eijun was reading baseball books and watching videos about pitching." Mrs. Sawamura added

"He works hard and I suppose that is the fruit of his hardwork. He even wakes up early now." Sawamura Eotoku felt proud that eijun is maturing, his usual liveliness is there but now he is a bit more considerate of others and not just randonly blowing their ears off.

"Akagi Junior High is doing well." A random person commented.

"Yeah, although they make basic errors like not catching a flyball or passed ball they aren't going gloomy."

"Does their pitcher have breaking balls? He has some weird stuff ou there."

"I don't think so because from closer inspection the ball moves near the plate. Wouldn't be able to notice it if he doesn't add the 4-seamer."

"So its a moving ball then. Makes sense since I heard there were no coaches and the team was newly formed."

"Its unfortunate that in 1 and a half year the school will be demolished." Various people from the audience agreed.

The quarter finals of Nagano prefracture's regional tournament ended in 0-1. Akagi Junior High lost the game after failing to make-up for the lost run but despite it they still enjoyed dinner at a restaurant together.

* * *

"Eijun! Come out! Everything is loaded already!"

"Coming mom!" Sawamura raced down the stairs. He will be accompanying his mother to Fukishima today and all her belongings are loaded to the moving truck.

"Did you bring a jacket? It will be a long trip you know." 

"I know but I will follow you today." Eijun grinned.

The ride towards fukishima is silent but comfortable. They paused the trip to take a break before continuing the trip. Eijun decided to take this opportunity to ask the question he's been putting off because he wants to be considerate to her feelings. 

"Mom, are you really fine with this?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes I do."

"But he doesn't love you back."

"I know, I have always known." His mother smiled sadly.

"Why did you agree to this mom? You don't deserve it. You were more loyal than anyone else, you loved more than you can receive. You cooked dinner with us in mind and you were patient with us."

"Eijun, listen. Some things just dont work the way we want it to be and I think the best thing I can do now is to let go. There is no point in holding on when you gave many chances and are hurting yourself."

"Alright, I'll respect youre decision. I'll try to visit you as often as I can alright."

The conversation was interupted as the movers called the mother and son pair, the trip will continue again.

Throughout the ride eijun felt weird, like something will go wrong. He continued to fidget in his sit, feeling uneasy. This goes unnotice by his lovable mother.

"Eijun, is there something-"

A loud thud and a deafening crush with screams of people were heard.

Eijun panicked, he saw glass shards coming at them. He couldn't move, large luggages in dissray didn't allow him. Suddenly he felt a warm sensation enveloping him in embrace.

All of it happened in a matter of seconds. Too fast for his eyes to understand how it happened but when he opened his eyes he saw blood, too much blood. He turned his head and saw his mother behind him.

She was hugging him, with a pool of blood beneath and a large shard of glass impaled on her.

He felt horrified, his mother is barely breathing but she smiled and looked at him one last time. 

"I love you, Eijun."

The sight infront of him made his mind muddled. Eijun released an intangible yet piercing screams of distress until his own vision turned black.

* * *

Sawamura opened his eyes, his vision blurry but getting clearer. He could smell the faint scent of medicine, he can't remember why but it looks like he is in the hospital. On his side was a button, he pushed it to call for the nurses.

A doctor and a nurse entered but he can hear familiar voices at the door, it was his grandfather. 

"How are you feeling?"

Eijun's attention snapped to the doctor.

"I'm fine. Why am I here?" He asked.

"You had an accident but just to make sure do you know your name and age?"

"I'm Sawamura Eijun, 14." He answered shortly, he still feels tired.

The doctor asked more questions and eijun answered it all obediently.

He then asked to leave for a bit, probably to say something to his family while the nurse was injecting something to his drips.

His grandfather then entered the room.

"Eijun-kun." His grandfather uttered

"Where is mother?" He couldn't remember, the last time he saw her was when he was asking questions. Is she already in fukishima?

"Eijun-kun, you and your mother had an accident. She was pronounced dead on arrival."

Eijun stared at eitoku, his eyes widened each second, he felt his head throbbed then suddenly memories of the accident flashed in his eyes. It was like a broken dvd that plays no matter what. He looked at eitoku who was crying along with him.

That day eijun felt like the world was darker than he thought. Like something wants to pull him from oblivion. He couldn't utter a single word, it is getting harder for him to breathe. The memory of his mother suddenly flashed in his mind, like it was hunting him. He could see blood everywhere. 

The fire extinguisher looks like blood. 

The red chair looks like blood.

Anything red looks like blood.

* * *

The day of cremation came and various relatives came to pay their respects. Eijun's maternal family also came, his mother's urn will stay at the sawamura's for a while since the divorce was not legally processed yet and his mother's family decided that its best for it to be with eijun. 

He stood up and began to wear his black suit. The red swivel chair in his room makes him light headed and see blood again. 

_'I'll put it away later including all red in this room.'_

It's been like that for days. Anything red makes him wanna close his eyes and panic. He can't tell others because he doesn't want them to worry. 

As soon as he opened the door, he came face to face with his cousin. Who was about to knock on his door and just like him, was also wearing a black suit.

"Grandpa was getting worried you know, so I was sent here to check on you. How are you feeling?" His cousin asked him.

"I'm fine Daichi-nii." He flashed him a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Sawamura Daichi, his older cousin and son of his grandfather's eldest child. A very responsible person. His uncles's family arrived here yesterday but he was locked up on his room crying, he didn't greet them yet.

"That reminds me, i didn't greet uncle and aunt yesterday. I should meet them. Thank you for coming daichi-ni."

"Of course we will, were family after all."

Eijun doesn't want to talk about it anymore, he already cried his tears dry. He heard that daichi likes volleyball so he maneuvered the conversation there.

"I heard you were in a volleyball club daichi-nii. How does highschool feel like?"

"I enrolled in Karasuno. It was a former powerhouse but coach ukai retired and since then we kept loosing but I'll never give up. I made a promise to my upperclassmans. **Especially that old man we'll make sure we won't be called flightless crows again.** " Daichi says but for some reason he (eijun) shuddered.

 _'His face darkened.'_ Eijun pointed out in his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really confident about the grammar but feel free to comment what you think. I would really appreciate criticisms and take that into account for improvement. 😊


End file.
